Girls basketball: Wadsworth hammers Solon to claim outright SL National title

WADSWORTH — With starting guard Julia Maddox out for a second straight game with an ankle injury, extra minutes from Leah Blake, Tenley Mendel and LyndiGray Tetzel were needed. The Wadsworth girls basketball role players came through with flying colors Wednesday, as Blake helped a first-half 3-point barrage, Mendel finished with her first career double-double and Tetzel had two buckets in the deciding second quarter to help the Grizzlies dominate Solon 74-43 and capture their first outright Suburban League National Conference championship since 2015-16. Wadsworth (18-2, 12-2) had the net-cutting ceremony Saturday following a grueling win over Stow, but T-shirts were at the ready for a postgame team photo this time around. "Oh, it's unreal," a giddy Blake said. "It's very exciting. I think we've worked for it, so it's really fun." Only a running clock prevented the Grizzlies from reaching their season high of 75 points, as they hammered the Comets (10-10, 6-8), who boasted the circuit's most prolific offense at 56.2 points per game, at their own game by relentlessly attacking in transition and hoisting open 3-pointers whenever possible. The latter was a stunner even for Wadsworth fans, who were wowed by the fact their team made five in the first quarter and eight in the opening 14:28 while roaring to a commanding 37-16 lead. The Grizzlies didn't bury any threes in the second half because they wore down Solon's press so thoroughly that the game turned into a layup line after a few long transition passes. Blake nailed two 3-pointers in the first quarter, while Marah Minor and Lauren Decker (game-high 24 points) added one apiece. Decker, Tetzel and Analise Lucey then dialed long distance in the second. "We were shot ready, that's for sure," Blake said after a hearty laugh. "We knew that if we drove in our threes were going to be open." Wadsworth also won the rebounding battle by a gaudy 38-18 count, led by Mendel's 11 points and 10 rebounds in the freshman's most extended minutes of the season. Natalie Maddox added seven points, seven rebounds a game-high five assists, Minor pocketed nine points, Natalie Moser posted five points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals and freshman guard Natalie Gill brought the bench to its feet when she pump-faked a defender before canning a short set shot in the third quarter. The attack-at-all-costs Comets, who made 13-of-43 field goals, 7-of-19 3-pointers and 10-of-11 free throws, got 16 points from Madeline Kormuth and 10 from Kaylie Gaiter-Davis but couldn't get a stop to save their lives and were dominated 23-5 by Wadsworth's bench. "We're definitely missing Julia (Maddox), but what we're really trying to do is keep that juice, that intensity she brings to our game," Mendel said of her teammate, who is likely to play next week against Magnificat (13-6). "The ultimate goal is not necessarily to do what she did in her game but bring our plan and bring our energy that she would bring for us." After being up-and-down on the offensive end over the previous seven games, the Grizzlies put forth arguably their best effort of the season on that end of the floor. The timing couldn't have been much better. "It's such a good feeling because this is such a welcoming group," Mendel said. "It just makes everything feel so supportive. I love playing with this team. They're just so great to be around." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 74, Solon 43 SOLON &emsp;&emsp;9 10 17 7 — 43 WADSWORTH &emsp;&emsp;18 23 19 14 — 74 Solon — Jacey Simms 0-0-0, Marissa Blackford 3-2-9, Madeline Kormuth 4-5-16, Atayla Steiner-Phillips 1-0-3, Kaylie Gaiter-Davis 3-3-10, Jamiyah Sullins-Burke 0-0-0, Gracie Gerhard 1-0-2, August Maddox 1-0-3, Josie Mauceri 0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-10-43. Wadsworth — Natalie Maddox 3-0-7, Lauren Decker 9-4-24, Marah Minor 3-2-9, Leah Blake 2-0-6, Natalie Moser 1-3-5, Natalie Gill 1-0-2, Tenley Mendel 5-1-11, Analise Lucey 2-0-5, LyndiGray Tetzel 2-0-5, Mila Polczak 0-0-0, Delaney White 0-0-0, Kennedy Hewit 0-0-0. TOTALS: 28-10-74. 3-point goals — Kormuth 3, Blackford, Steiner-Phillips, Gaiter-Davis, A. Maddox, Decker 2, Blake 2, N. Maddox, Lucey, Tetzel, Minor. Rebounds — Solon 18 (Blackford 5), Wadsworth 38 (Mendel 10). Assists — Solon 8 (Kormuth 3), Wadsworth 18 (Maddox 5). Records — Solon (10-10, 6-8), Wadsworth (18-2, 12-2). Junior varsity — Wadsworth 27, Solon 16 (3 quarters).